Archive for the ‘The Reading Nook’ Category

Last week, the New York Times reported findings from Scholastic’s Reading Report. According to the report, just 31% of kids ages 6 to 17 said they read daily for pleasure. It also noted that’s a 6% drop from four years ago.

We all know there are tons of benefits to reading for fun, so what can we do? Two things top the list. First, we can read to kids. Second, we can encourage schools systems to let kids read on their own at school:

“There were some consistent patterns among the heavier readers: For the younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading; for the older children — ages 12 to 17 — one of the largest predictors was whether they had time to read on their own during the school day.”

And while experts admit they can’t say conclusively that reading aloud to older kids boosts reading comprehension, they do say it helps them develop background knowledge. And from a completely unscientific measure—personal experience—it’s also great bonding time:

“’It wouldn’t have to be reading’ to accomplish that, said Catherine Snow, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. ‘A two-minute conversation about something on television or something in a magazine or something that you’re reading yourself can also have some of the same positive effects as reading aloud.’”

So share a story with the kids tonight even if you think they’re too old. Chances are, they’re not.

Is there anything sweeter than seeing your child reading books that you loved when you were her age? Nope. I don’t think so!

The girl’s been ploughing through Judy Blume novels – the five novels in the Fudge series have been read and reread. It’s Not the End of the World is on deck and I can see Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret being devoured in the next year or two.

Although these are fabulous books, this review is about a series that’s been called the illustrated Judy Blume: three graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier. (more…)

“School’s out for summer…” You’re singing it with me, right? A little air guitar? How about adding on “I’m here to help you…”- help you fight the summer slide that is. Our kids work hard during the school year – let’s help them stay ahead of the game over the summer break.

Here’s a list of recommended books for your kids. Although I’ve grouped them by grade, keep in mind your kids’ reading level. And don’t forget to read to them too.

Make a weekly trip to the library, take a few along on vacation, have a daily family half hour reading session – there are many opportunities to incorporate reading into your family’s life. We even made the kids a little sheet so they can keep track of what they read. Click here to print it out.

Like any parent, I think about my daughter’s screen time and how best to manage it. It’s enough of a challenge for me as an adult to make sure that I don’t fall down the rabbit hole of aimless surfing or social media. And I certainly don’t want it to be the main default when any of us are bored.

As I often say around here, “everything in moderation”.

That being said, screen time and social media are here to stay. And being curious about how to best work with it rather than it being an “either/or” – either reading OR screen time, I discovered something that might just make all the difference in encouraging your kids to not only read more but think about what they are reading.

When I review books for you, I try to find books that you may not have known about otherwise. I figure, you already KNOW about what’s on the best seller lists, right?

Well, today I’m giving a HUGE thumbs up to a book that’s on the best seller lists right now- Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I picked it up on a Friday and by Sunday had finished it – and that’s with a full weekend of family! (more…)

Do you recommend books to your friends? Do they recommend their faves to you too? Yes on both counts over here. And luckily, some of my friend “recommenders” ALSO live in other countries so I get to see what British or South African kids, for example, are enjoying. One of the most recent recommendations is Ottoline and the Yellow Cat. (more…)

So what’s so special about an alphabet book? Hasn’t it been done before? Well, yes it has. Often. But every once in a while you find a special treasure of a book that takes a well worn subject and turns it on its head. This is Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet. (more…)